…Naira drops to N1,608.73/US$
WED JULY 31 2024-theGBJournal| The Nigerian equities market sustained its bearish run, following losses in NB (-9.8%), ZENITHBANK (-2.2%) and UCAP (-9.0%). Consequently, the All-Share index declined by 0.1% to close at 97,774.22 points.
Accordingly, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns settled at -2.3% and +30.8%, respectively.
The total trading volume surged by 360.3% to 1.84 billion units, valued at N23.11 billion, and exchanged in 10,847 deals. FIDELITYBK was the most traded stock by volume and value at 1.33 billion units and NGN14.04 billion, respectively.
Analysing by sectors, the Insurance (+1.5%) and Banking (+0.6%) indices posted gains, while the Consumer Goods (-0.8%) index posted declines. The Oil & Gas and Industrial Goods indices were unchanged.
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was mixed (1.0x), as 28 tickers lost relative to 27 gainers. CUTIX (-10.0%) and BERGER (-10.0%) topped the losers’ list, while IMG (+10.0%) and VERITASKAP (+10.0%) recorded the most significant gains of the day.
Currency
The naira appreciated by 0.8% to NGN1,608.73/USD in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).
Money Market & Fixed Income
The overnight lending rate contracted by 3bps to 25.8% in the absence of any significant inflows into the system.
Trading in the Treasury bills secondary market was mixed, albeit with a bearish tilt, as the average yield inched higher by 1bp to 25.2%. Across the curve, the average yield contracted at the short (-1bp) and mid (-2bps) segments due to interests in the 85DTM (-1bp) and 176DTM (-2bps) bills, respectively. Conversely, the average yield expanded at the long (+4bps) end driven by sell pressures on the 295DTM (+66bps) bill. In the OMO segment, the average yield declined by 2bps to 25.3%.
Bearish sentiments persisted in the Treasury bond secondary market, as the average yield expanded by 6bps to 19.5%. Across the benchmark curve, the average yield was flat at the short and mid segments, but advanced at the long end (+11bps) due to profit-taking activities on the APR-2049 (+50bps) bond.
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